Sudan: rare glimpse inside war-ravaged El Geneina

weighed down on the move with everything they have and everyone they have left here at the Crossing between darur and Chad more than a thousand pass through every day their fathers and brothers were forced to flee months ago escaping the massacres of the rapid support Forces paramilitary Group which rampaged through Western Dar four beating back the Sudanese Army with Escape comes relief but there's no escaping the memories of what they have seen Crossing into to Chad the displaced disappear into the dust journalists haven't been allowed to cross and film on the other side until now rare access into Westar fall has been granted by the rsf now in charge the only traffic we see on the route in horsedrawn carts carrying Drums of fuel a vital source of income for the rsf in their fight to control Sudan this is El Janina Arabic for the garden but here Baron service stations looted long ago sit across from the street stalls running the show now one bottle at a time the International Airport was a symbol of the rebirth of War torn darur after the horrors of the early 2000s now the fans were only in the wind beside trenches where the electrical cables were dug up and stolen airport security means something very different here but there are no planes or even people to protect a year ago the rsf and its Arab allies at war with the Sudan Armed Forces took control of the airport and laid waste to this city and the massalit people who lived here bodies were piled high in these streets overwhelmed survivors stopped counting but the dead May number as high as 15,000 with hundreds of thousands forced to [Music] flee Abu Adam Yaya is haunted by a massacre at the school next door to his house he doesn't remember the date soon after Ramadan last May is the best he can guess in the market there's an uneasy normality it is hunger that now stalk those who stayed the little food available here is far too expensive for most more than a year of fighting means crops have gone unplanted food is scarce and the Sudanese Army is blocking Aid using it as a weapon of War looms large this is not the reality the rsf presents when they take us on a tour of the city they're Keen to show their rebranded new secure El Janina and to reframe the atrocities committed here but there is no tour of the mass Graves which survivors and satellite imagery tell us exist no talk of the crimes against humanity the rsf are accused of committing no mention of the ethnic cleansing that Echoes the atrocities of the DAR for genocide two decades ago and any questions about it are met with denial last stop is the El Janina teaching hospital it was partially destroyed and looted during the fighting now it's operational again the rsf want to show off how well they are cooperating with the international Aid agencies here but of the 160 medical staff who worked here before the war just 30 remain the only working Hospital in Westar four they are struggling to cope with the burgeoning number of malnourish children being admitted you only see these in emergencies you know this is bilateral pitting you know and this this is only in acute food insecurity situations when they arrive they have s nutrition you know and C with infections that have been treated I and so it becomes very very difficulty to try having to see them to treat them for those who make the long journey to get here the lack of resources mean that some cannot be saved women stand powerless over their premature babies knowing there's nothing they can do to keep them alive and as in all wars it is the eldest as well as the youngest who are most [Music] vulnerable so more and more leave with each passing day seeking food medicine safety in search of a new home the rsf may be in control of this place but it is powerless to stop the people abandoning a city that's no longer theirs an adopt version of that report will be available soon on our website well I'm joined now by the US Special Envoy for Sudan Tom perello thank you very much for joining us can you tell me what are you trying to achieve in Sudan right now what is your immediate aim end the war get food and medicine to people who need it uh and help with a democratic transition to civilian rule but we must end these horrific atrocities uh we must be able to get food and Medicine uh any these uh situations that your footage covers uh and it must happen immediately what what leverage and influence does the United States have oh the United States is working with many African counterparts Europeans Gulf allies we are trying to make clear uh that International humanitarian law must be respected uh we need the Army the saf to be allowing food and Medicine across the border we need the rsf to guarantee uh that they will not attack loot uh or kill humanitarian workers as this is delivered um and time is not on our side not only because of the horrific fragility you just showed but because the rainy season is on the way um and that is only going to make delivery of these life-saving materials uh even more difficult as you know the rsf is supported by the UAE um what have you been saying to them uh our message to all of the countries in the region including the UAE is that this is a time to be partners in peace uh this is not only a situation that is putting millions of Sudanese people at risk it's become a threat to stability across the region and a country that is geographically expansive uh strategically located incredibly diverse so first and foremost uh in honor of the Sudanese people we must uh put pressure on both sides to silence the guns uh come to the peace talks uh and end this war and ensure that humanitarian access and I think the Sudanese people will have a very long memory of those who stood with them and with peace uh and those who helped fuel this war do you think they're listening you know there is not a clamor from around the world on Sudan is there uh sadly we see way too much silence uh the Sudanese people talk to me about being rendered invisible even at their uh worst hour um but I do think the world is starting to wake up I think we're seeing more allies uh in Africa and in the Gulf understand that this is a crisis um of not only tremendous humanitarian uh importance uh but also Regional importance and that's why we need uh the talks to restart in Jetta uh we need the Army to commit to those talks uh as well as the rsf which has done so we need uh to ensure that humanitarian access now uh but yes we need the world to pay more attention to this uh we appreciate the footage you were able to uh get and show the world I mean you know you are the United States Envoy but we're seeing tonight you know president Biden is very very engaged on the Middle East and on Israel and obviously that's understandable given the United States relationship with Israel but you know the the the these two conflicts are very comparable you know the numberb of people killed in Sudan is horrific the number of people at risk of of starvation and humanitarian disaster is much greater than it is in Gaza you know how how easy is it for you to engage the White House the president himself on this issue you know does he ever make the calls himself uh we've actually had great uh support from President Biden from secretary blinkin uh but we need more countries around the world uh to join us in pushing for this but it is really difficult to communicate the sheer scale of this crisis we're talking about tens of millions of sudin who've been displaced from their homes uh we're talking about hundreds of thousands uh that are facing famine or famine like conditions um this is just a massive country uh and we are just not seeing the attention we need uh and that the Sudanese people deserve uh we were able with the Paris conference in April uh and our supplemental uh to significantly increase the amount of Aid going to that area um but we need far more uh and we need far more pressure on the parties to end this war so uh we have uh leaned in as the United States uh we believe that it's very clear neither side has a path to military Victory uh the victory must come for the Sudanese people through negotiations uh and handing the future over to the Sudanese people um and and uh we need to see the region and more of the world care uh and support those efforts Tom Perell thank you very much indeed for joining us tonight thank you thank you

Channel: Channel 4 News

Views: 18,985

Keywords: Channel 4 News, sudan, Sudan fighting, Sudan war, Sudan famine, Chad, Egypt, South Sudan, Khartoum, RSF, Sudanese army, Darfur, Darfur camps, Darfur famine, Zamzam camp, sudan civil war, sudan anniversary, sudan war anniversary, UAE, Iran, el fasher, El-Genina, Rapid Support Forces, C4News

Id: VjgTHZY-iqM

Length: 13min 39sec (819 seconds)

Published: Fri May 31 2024